All the Ends of the Earth
by mkeeg91
Summary: I'm back! with help from Lady Pryde. A new Dragonborn with a less than awesome past. warning: mentions past tense rape, abuse, beatings, torture. Some language as well. May also have 3-4 different characters showing up. This will be partially reader driven as we'll ask for input at each chapter along the way. No pairings yet: please give opinions for future options. More inside!
1. Chapter 1: Burning Day

**Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim  
****All the Ends of the Earth  
Chapter 1: Burning Day**

* * *

_Hi world! This is a co-op between Lady Pryde and Mkeeg91. We've been debating this one for some time before finally agreeing to write it. We hope you enjoy!_

_Our attempt at writing our own version of Skyrim the game. We're hoping that some people enjoy it even though this story has been overdone. This is one of Kitty's role play female Nord's who has a rather sad past, which will greatly affect her through her travels and decisions. As we go further, we're hoping readers will give opinions of quests, locations, followers, etc that they want included that will fit the flow of our story. We may not take your idea, but ALL ideas will be considered and debated off screen. We do warn that she is rather anti-Thalmor as you'll learn early on, so she will not join the Empire no matter what. Whether or not she joins the Stormcloaks is unknown at this point because honestly Mkeeg hates Ulfric even if he likes the Stormcloak's stance. Kitty personally doesn't care much for him either, but she is less of a Stormcloak fan as well._

_Warnings of mature talk (no sex though, only roughly mentioned). Talk of blood, death, beatings, abuse and rape are (abuse and rape past tense and won't actually occur in the story itself). You have been warned!_

_This doesn't belong to us. Only Kitty's character(s?) belongs to her along with her (their?) past(s). The rest we're merely playing with and warping to fit my slightly altered storyline. Expect to see other characters that we've both made (don't worry, not all of them because Mkeeg alone has made over 15 by now and Kitty at least half a dozen… we're thinking no more than three or four will show up, so if your favorite quest line isn't done by Kate, then maybe one of the other's may do that quest line instead._

_Please forgive if the lines aren't 100% correct… or even close in some cases. For some scenes I'm writing the lines ab memorium. _

_Hope you all enjoy!_

* * *

A cart was rattling down a road through the wilderness of Skyrim. A man wearing brown and red armor sat in the front seat, guiding the horse pulling the cart. In the back were four people, all with their wrists bound, though one was also gagged with a cloth. The first was a rather average looking man in a simple, yet tattered tunic. The second was also a man wearing a brown leather-like armor. It appeared to have a chain mail under layer if the poking out sleeves were any hint. Over top of the leather was a blue cloth like material that wrapped around the man's neck and down his chest diagonally. Leather straps crisscrossed his chest. The locals knew the armor as the standard armor of the Windhelm Guard, but more significantly as the armor of the Stormcloaks. The third man was wearing fine garments that were also armor plated. Both shoulders were covered by fur, which he wore like a coat over the armor. It was also noted that his mouth was stuffed with a cloth.

The final person was the only female of the group. Wearing similar rags as the first person, except for one significant difference; hers were ripped in parts, and blotched with stains that looked oddly like blood. If the others had been able to see her back, they would have noticed the torn fabric looked as if the wearer had been flogged in the past. This was partially due to the long, thin gashes in it… and the blood stains to match them. The woman looked like she might have been attractive at one point, but at the moment, she looked only like a shell of her former self; her right eye was bruised from getting punched there only days before… for making a meal that was too hot. She had deep, red hair in a ponytail in the back. On either side of her head, her hair was braided, and framing her face were a few strands of loose hair. Her body was covered in dirt, grime, and blood from lack of bath and proper care. She was practically skin and bones, extremely skinny due to the small amounts of food she had been given for the past few years. Her back, arms, and legs were covered in scars from blades and whips for mistakes she may or may not have made while in the 'care' of her last Masters.

That's correct, she had been a slave of a Thalmorian Agent and his five Justiciars only days before when she had escaped… only to be caught up in an Imperial Ambush of a Stormcloak Squad. The Imperials didn't even stop to consider how differently she appeared than the Stormcloaks before one bashed her behind the head with his shield. She had been knocked unconscious and hadn't woken in the two days since due to her already sickly nature. She was currently still unconscious.

The cart was rattling down a road through the wilderness, which seemed to jar the woman awake. Looking around, she noticed her company just as the man in the uniform, noticed her awake.

Hey! You're finally awake?" he paused for a second, but the woman said nothing. "You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there?" the woman shook her head.

"I've been here already for a couple of days before I was caught with your group," she replied quietly. "I just happened across your group trying to… start anew," she said frowning and turning slightly away from him. The Nord Stormcloak chuckled.

"Typical Empire," he said, before the thief broke in.

"Damn you Stormcloaks," he growled. "If they hadn't been searching for you, I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell by now…"

"We're all brothers and sisters in bonds now, thief," replied the Nord once more, before lapsing into silence.

The woman looked around. She didn't recognized these woods, but they were better than the ones from back 'home'. She mentally scoffed at calling that place home! Home was where you were loved and felt safe. Not a place where you felt fear and anger; a place full of pain from beatings, lack of food, and… abuse. She shuddered trying to forget the nights when her Masters would use her for their own gratification as she tried not to cry. As she looked wistfully up at the trees knowing that no matter what happened she would never be their slave again, the thief's voice broke the silence.

"What's wrong with him, then?" he asked, jerking his head toward the gagged man.

"Watch your tongue!" spat the Stormcloak. "You are speaking of Ulfric Stormcloak, the _true_ High King!"

"Wait, Ulfric Stormcloak? Jarl of Windhelm? If they captured him, then… Oh Gods—where are they taking us?" cried the thief, terror seizing his heart.

"Be quiet back there!" yelled the Imperial driving the cart.

No sooner had he spoken then the tower of the keep, Helgen rose above the tree line. It was not long afterward that the cart rolled through the gates, which were sealed behind the caravan, and pulled to a stop.

As the cart stopped, so did the woman's heart.

'An executioner… so from slave to prisoner now to the chop block… well at least if I die here, those Thalmor bastards won't get the satisfaction of being the ones to kill me,' she thought morosely already mentally preparing herself for her coming death.

The prisoners rose solemnly, descending from the cart one by one as another Nord, an Imperial, checked them off a list. The woman heard that the Stormcloak from her cart was "Ralof, of Riverwood."

Suddenly there was a commotion, and the thief pushed through the line of people. "You've made a mistake! I'm not one of them, I'm not a rebel," which fell on deaf ears. Seeing no alternative, he decided to make his escape, "

You won't kill me," he cried, running as quickly as his bound hands would let him in an attempt to reach the gate.

"Archers!" yelled the Imperial Captain, a Redguard woman clad from head to toe in Imperial heavy armor. As one, the archers turned and shot towards the thief, who was lucky enough to not be hit by one arrow, but the second caught him in the back causing him to fall and lay still, bleeding out on the road. The Captain turned back, eyes flashing, she looked at the rest of the prisoners. "Anyone else?" No one moved or answered.

"You there," said the Imperials' list keeper. "You're not on the list. Who are you?" He gestured for the woman to step forward.

"I am… Kitty, but please call me Kate," she said, hating the pet name the Thalmor gave her. She stood with her head held high, knowing that there was little chance of surviving this, but not as scared anymore as she had been upon first arriving. "I crossed the border into Skyrim this week to escape slavery," she said not bashful or embarrassed in the slightest having long gotten over her position as a slave.

The Nord looked sadly at his kinsman. She had been beautiful in the past; her face was shallow yet not unattractive even in her thinner than healthy shape, her cheeks flushed with anger, her eyes shining determinedly with a bright shade of green. He believed her story; she was not wearing Stormcloak armor, nor did she even look capable of wielding a weapon, she was so skinny… and weak looking. Heck she barely was standing without wobbling! He turned to look at the captain.

"Captain, what do we do? She's not on the list," he said.

"Forget the List! She goes to the block with the rest of them," growled the Redguard, staring into Kate's eyes. Kate was of course angry with the woman, but she had already known that there was no hope for her anymore. The Empire was almost as bad as their Thalmor puppet masters as she had learned over the years.

"I—I'm sorry," murmured the Nord. "At least you'll die here, in Skyrim." Kate nodded slightly and turned to follow the Captain at the orders of the Nord. She stood among the group of Stormcloaks.

As Kate stood in the lineup listening to the priestess of Arkay prattle on about death and Sovngarde, an otherworldly sound echoed across the sky.

"What was that?" asked an Imperial.

"It was nothing. Continue on," said General Tullius, the Imperial commander in Skyrim, casting his eyes about the town.

"For the love of Talos!" cried a redheaded Stormcloak, "Shut up and let's get on with this." He stormed up to the block and stood before the executioner. The Captain placed her foot on his back and forced him down onto his knees before placing his head on the cutting stone.

"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperial. Can you say the same?"

A moment later, the sound of metal hitting stone rang through Helgen and the man's body tipped over slowly, his head falling heavily into the basket on the other side of the block.

"You Imperial bastards!" "Justice!" "Death to the Stormcloaks!" cried out the voices of the villagers.

"Next, the skinny Nord!" bellowed the Imperial captain. Kate just walked forward as if she was going to town. With her head held high, she walked straight up the executioner and looked him in the eye. If she hadn't been paying attention she would have missed his next words: "Just think of this as putting you out of your misery. I can tell you've had it rough."

She looked back at him and oddly enough, her eyes shown her gratitude to the man who was just doing his job.

The eerie sound echoed through the mountains again, and the earth trembled slightly. It was much closer this time.

As Kate laid her neck on the block, still damp with the blood of its previous victim, a deafening roar rent the sky and the ground quaked.

"What in Oblivion is that!" cried General Tullius. The Imperial captain called to the men posted atop the keep.

"Sentries, what do you see?"

But her question was answered a moment later when a hulking black beast soared over the mountaintop and crashed down atop one of the towers.

"A dragon!" someone screamed unnecessarily.

_~STRUN…TOR…SHUL!~_

Seconds later, dark clouds began to form and giant rocks fell the sky, striking some of her unlucky companions, Imperials, and villagers without pity or care.

Kate rolled off of the rock to her left and right into the body of the executioner who lay dead beside her. She noticed his axe beside his body, so she quickly shifted her hands near the blade and started to saw her bonds back and forth against it, freeing herself.

Turning to the executioner, she closed his eyes and looked around before hearing the dragon shout:

_~YOL…TOR…SHUL!~_

Flames erupted from the dragon's mouth. Kate saw women and men alike set alight. Quickly grabbing the executioner's axe, a small iron dagger, and his coin purse, she scrambled into one of the stone towers and found herself in the company of a few Stormcloak soldiers, including Ralof, from her wagon, and the Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak.

"Jarl Ulfric," said Ralof, "what is that thing? Could the legends be true?"

"Legends," said Ulfric darkly, "don't burn down villages."

Kate looked around and noticed the only female Stormcloak laying on the ground holding her stomach in pain and the ground was quickly becoming covered in her blood. Another Nord was trying to comfort her in her last few minutes; there would be no survival for her without proper potions.

Another Stormcloak was standing off to the side looking lost and confused. Ralof rushed over to her with a look of surprise yet glee at the giant axe in her hands though he quickly looked up to her eyes.

"Let's head up stairs and try to escape," he said. She nodded her head and proceeded to slowly climb the steps in her weary state. She used the axe to help support herself. Just as she reached the halfway landing, the wall was blasted in and the dragon was there!

_~YOL…TOR…SHUL!~_

The unlucky Stormcloak who was standing there caught the blast straight on and was dead in seconds before the dragon flew off.

"You'll have to jump! See the building next to us? Jump down to it and make your way to the street. Hopefully we can use the confusion and run for it!"

Kate stood before the hole in the tower, staring down at the burning inn below. She wasn't sure if she would make it with her current strength, but nodded her head.

"I'll follow you, but I have to make sure my men get out," Ralof said, urging her forward.

Shaking her head at his answer, she tossed the axe down first and was happy to see it make its way into the inn hopefully far enough away so she wouldn't land on it on accident.

She then launched herself across the gap, landing on the second floor of the inn. She felt a quick, sharp pain on her wrist and noticed that she hadn't quite cleared the flames. Her wrist was burnt badly and she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out. The jump had also caused her ankles to throb in pain, but she stumbled through the flames, picked up her axe with her good hand, and dropped to the first floor. She quickly hid behind a wall and looked out on to the street. An old man in iron armor, the list keeper, and a boy were all hiding behind a building just as the dragon burnt another person. The dragon flew off and the group made a run for the Imperials.

Kate knew this was her chance, so she limped out onto the street and ducked behind the remainders of a house and hid. Luck was against her as the dragon landed right above her, but fortunately it didn't notice her as it was looking at the soon to be dead Imperial right in front of it. Right before her eyes, yet another person was burnt alive. She hugged herself and dropped the axe next to her as she slid to the ground, trying to rid herself of the need to throw up at the sight of the charred body only a dozen feet in front of her.

The dragon's vicious roars snapped Kate back into reality and she stood up, picked up her axe, and with ankles still sore, she ran toward the keep, where she ran into Ralof once more.

He looked delighted to see that she had survived and said "Follow me, in here! We should be safe for the time being."

He grabbed her hand and she screamed out in pain since his fingers brushed her burn. He quickly looked down and let go of her wrist. He looked at her in concern knowing she was definitely not in the best shape for this sort of thing. He wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her walk towards the door. He shut it firmly behind them and caught his breath.

Catching sight of a Stormcloak sprawled on the ground, he walked over to the limp figure, checked for a heartbeat, then stood up once more.

"We will meet again in Sovngarde, sister," he murmured, so softly that Kate had to lean forward to hear. After a brief moment of prayer, Ralof turned to her.

"You might as well take Naela's armor," he said. "She won't be needing it anymore…" Quickly Kate removed the woman's armor as he kindly turned away to protect her modesty. She thought that was sweet of him, but after all those years as a slave, her care for modesty was next to nil. She quickly removed her rags and slowly donned the armor. She started with the thin chainmail under layer, before adding the leather components and then wrapping the belt around her waist. The blue cloth was part of the leather it appeared, so she did nothing about it. She then grabbed the fur gauntlets and boots putting them on. She shredded the hated rags and tossed them in the corner. Then picked up the iron war axe and after attaching it to the loop on her belt, she looked to Ralof, while picking up her larger axe off of the ground slightly leaning on it.

"I'm decent. Lead the way," she said.

He nodded and said, "now lets find a way out of here. Hopefully along the way we can find some potions for some of those wounds and your burn". He looked at her in concern and she just smiled tiredly in return.

"Thank you for your concern, but I've had worse," she said with complete honesty. Ralof only shook his head, but quickly straightened up with the sound of metal hitting rock from behind them. 'Footsteps!' With a finger over his mouth, they quickly hid on either side of the small gate.

"Open this gate!" cried a very familiar female voice. Kate smirked at her good fortune and held her executioner axe in two hands, ready for use.

"Yes, Captain!" cried out a second voice Kate recognized.

'The list keeper!' she thought with concern. The gate opened and the two ran into the room. Kate quickly moved up behind the Captain and said, "Why did you order my death? Just because it gives you the jollies? Or worse? Do you get off on other's pain?" she asked with a fake sweet voice and smile.

The two Imperials turned around and the male quickly diverted his face as the blood of his commanding officer splashed on him.

Kate had swung her axe diagonally when the Captain started to turn decapitating the woman with a sick glee she didn't know existed. Ralof looked on with shock and a little envy at the power behind the axe.

The remaining Imperial quickly dropped his sword and shield before raising his arms. "Please don't kill me! It's hell on Earth out there and I'm just happy to have escaped alive! I won't act against either of you if you let me live. I'll even help you both escape!"

Kate looked to Ralof who shrugged nonverbally saying it was her show.

Kate huffed and thought, 'men!'. With a shake of her head she turned back to the Imperial.

"What's you name?" He looked a little confused, so she continued. "I don't want to call you Imperial if I'm going to be working with you," she said with a small smile and mirth in her eyes. She was surprised that for the first time in her life she felt alive and happy with the chaos and fighting. She knew then and there that no matter what happened, she would probably spend the rest of her life fighting.

Realizing he wasn't going to die… at least not yet, the Imperial looked at her with a small smile in appreciation and said, "Hadvar of Riverwood".

* * *

_I think this is a good place to stop right now. Kitty disagrees, but I've been told I like abrupt endings… I guess this helps prove that point haha! So far, our hero… is closer to an anti-hero than a real one. She enjoys killing it appears and has a less than stellar past. Kitty make her about twenty-three years old. Ralof and Hadvar are both in their upper twenties in this story, not that it will matter too much._

_We have questions for our readers: what types of quests (radiant and main) do you want to us to follow? We may not do it if we have a good reason, but chances are we might be able to make it work for her. She will NOT be an Imperial and she will NOT be a Stormcloak. She will be a Shadowraven or Shadowhawk (please tell me which name you like more or come up with another for a shadowy group). They are pro Elisef since she is the legitimate ruler of Skyrim by order of succession, but hate the Empire and want Skyrim to rule itself. They like the Stormcloak views, but don't trust Ulfric and believe he has ulterior motives. _

_Also let me know which light armors she should use (or heavy, but that one requires more explanation since she will be running around Skyrim a lot and light armor makes more sense for this). Oh, and should she get a horse? If so any ideas on that since neither Kitty nor Mkeeg use horses… we fast travel, which Kate won't be doing in this story._

_Also if you have any comments about the writing style, plot, etc please let us know what you think. We want to know, but please don't write it in the form of a flame; rather write it as a critique if you don't like it. Thank you!_


	2. Chapter 2: Into the Keep

**Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim  
All the Ends of the Earth  
****Chapter 2: Into the Keep**

* * *

_Hi world! This is a co-op between Lady Pryde and Mkeeg91. We've been debating this one for some time before finally agreeing to write it. Here is part 2. We hope you enjoy our attempt at writing our own version of Skyrim the game. _

_This is one of Kitty's role play female Nord's who has a rather sad past, which will greatly affect her through her travels and decisions. As we go further, we're hoping readers will give opinions of quests, locations, followers, etc that they want included that will fit the flow of our story. We may not take your idea, but ALL ideas will be considered and debated off screen. We do warn that she is rather anti-Thalmor as you'll learn early on, so she will not join the Empire no matter what. Whether or not she joins the Stormcloaks is unknown at this point because honestly Mkeeg hates Ulfric even if he likes the Stormcloak's stance. Kitty personally doesn't care much for him either, but she is less of a Stormcloak fan as well._

_Warnings of mature talk (no sex though, only roughly mentioned). Talk of blood, death, beatings, abuse and rape are (abuse and rape past tense and won't actually occur in the story itself). You have been warned!_

_This doesn't belong to us. It belongs to Bethesda Softworks (I think I forgot this in Chapter One, so I added it here). Only Kitty's character(s?) belongs to her along with her (their?) past(s). The rest we're merely playing with and warping to fit my slightly altered storyline. Expect to see other characters that we've both made (don't worry, not all of them because Mkeeg alone has made over 15 by now and Kitty at least half a dozen… we're thinking no more than three or four will show up, so if your favorite quest line isn't done by Kate, then maybe one of the other's may do that quest line instead._

_Please forgive if the lines aren't 100% correct… or even close in some cases. For some scenes I'm writing the lines ab memorium. _

_Hope you all enjoy! Hopefully this time we'll get more than two reviews. That was depressing for Kitty and myself._

_Guest: I like the Shadowolves and will be using that name. Thank you very much! As for the anti-hero, I mean that she will still be the hero that the world needs her to be, but many of her traits will be opposite of what a normal hero would have. She doesn't like people due to her past, she hates Elves, she will want big rewards for her deeds to make for all of the pain she faced in her past, etc. As for the armor, Leather sounds like a good start at least until she gets the Shadowolves armor, which I've already designed in my head haha! I recommend making an account even if just to review stories so that authors can message you in return. _

_Back to the story!_

* * *

The unlikely group of three continued on into the reaches of the keep. Ralof and Hadvar kept looking at each other uneasily, so Kate walked in the center to make sure neither of the Nord's did something stupid. She rolled her eyes at the thought.

Walking down a spiral slope, the group was about to walk down a pathway when another ungodly sound was heard.

"Look out!" cried Hadvar grabbing onto the back of Kate's armor pulling her out of the way of falling debris as the roof caved in over the spot she had just been standing in.

"Thanks!" Kate said breathlessly realizing how close to dying once again she had just been. She slumped tiredly against the wall, fatigue and pain easily readable in her eyes. Hadvar and Ralof exchanged uneasy glances, which Kate caught.

'At least my condition seems to be forcing them to work together. Thank the Divine's for small victories!' she thought with an almost invisible smirk on her lips.

Ralof and Hadvar moved over to her and each one put one of her arms over their shoulders to help support her weight. She was less than pleased with the treatment, but decided to just humor them.

They opened the door and walked into the room, sitting Kate down at the table. The three Imperials in the room drew their weapons, but Hadvar approached them and was able to sway them from attacking the odd group. The Captain, a male Imperial named Ivan grabbed some healing potions and handed them to Kate, concern in his eyes. 'How could Captain Sinia have thought she was a Rebel in this state,' he thought in relation to the Imperial Redguard Captain who had ordered Kate's execution only minutes beforehand, even though now it felt likes hours.

The potions started to do their work, but he knew she would need more than just a handful of minor healing potions to help her with her ailment. Quickly looking around the room, the Captain ordered his two men to start collecting all of the food in the room. He had Hadvar start the stove as he bandaged Kate's wounds.

The entire time, Ralof stood off to the side feeling useless and foolish. For the past few years, he had only seen the Imperials as monsters, yet before his eyes, he saw four Imperials doing all they could to help some random woman they didn't know. Swallowing his pride, he approached the Captain and said, "Is there anything I can do to help her?"

The Captain looked surprised for a second, before the look was replaced with respect. "Gather any water you can find. We'll need to clean some of her wounds so they don't get infected. For now that is all we can do to help her until we can get supplies for her.

Ralof nodded and started at once searching for water. Hadvar walked up to him and nonverbally said he would go with him since the fire had been started already. Ralof nodded and the two odd companions started off.

Soon, their silence became too much for Hadvar who said, "What happened to her?"

Ralof didn't need any further explanation. He knew who the Imperial was talking about. "I wish I knew. The cart ride to the chop block was the first time I had ever met her. Though I can tell she looks half starved… and beaten. Possibly abused even. Plus she did mention she was escaping slavery to your Captain."

Hadvar looked angry. "Whoever did that to her deserves the same fate that Ulfric deserves! Death by beheading!"

Ralof turned angrily to his companion who seemed to realize just who he was talking to. Looking abashed Hadvar said, "Sorry about that. I forget that you're a Stormcloak. All the stories I hear are of monsters, yet I know you're not one. I miss the days when the two of us would go out hunting together."

Ralof nodded curtly, silently agreeing and said, "I was thinking the same; watching your Captain tend to Kate like that even though he didn't know her… it just shows that Imperial or Stormcloak, we are all just men and women underneath our armor."

Hadvar nodded his head in agreement and both were silent once again. In the next room they heard fighting. Rushing down they saw a dead Imperial and two dead Stormcloaks. A female Stormcloak with a war hammer was fighting an Imperial Torturer. Hadvar ran in breaking both of their concentration. He approached the Torturer trying and failing to get him to understand the situation. Meanwhile, Ralof approached the woman, but she was much more inclined to listen putting away her weapon. Seeing Hadvar was distracting the Torturer, both Stormcloaks quietly slipped out of the room and further down the path.

A minute later, Hadvar joined them sorrow in his eyes. "The man wouldn't believe me and thought I was a traitor… I had to… kill him," he said morosely. The lady, Illania put her arm around the Imperial knowing he was hurting having to kill one of his allies. Ralof looked away, allowing the man some time to mourn without witnesses.

A clearing of Hadvar's throat meaning he was ready to move on signaled the group to keep walking further. After explaining the situation to Illania, she quickly agreed to help. They heard voices ahead and as they rounded the corner, they came across a cavern with more Imperials standing around. What drew their eyes though was the flowing water. Hadvar told the two Stormcloaks to wait while he approached the Imperials.

The Captain was with three Imperial soldiers and Hadvar noticed two archers on the far walkway. He knew his little group would not win a confrontation and hoped to sway the group into helping them. The Captain and four of the Imperials were easy to sway once they heard Captain Ivan was already on board and easily agreed to help, but the last soldier, an archer, was adamantly against working with the Stormcloaks and drew his bow, firing at the Captain before anyone could stop him. The group looked on in shock as the arrow slipped between the plates of his armor and impaled him near his heart. The other soldiers quickly killed the man before running over to their Captain. Less than a minute later, he was dead. The last words on his lips were surprisingly a prayer to Talos and Sovngarde.

Ralof and Illania stepped out of the shadows at the scene and knelt down beside the group. None of the Imperials said a word, too shocked that one of their own killed his superior officer. The Imperials folded the Captain's arms on his chest, laying his shield on over his arms. Above his head, they stabbed his sword into the dirt and placed his helmet on it. Ralof and Illania quickly gathered water into buckets that they had grabbed before rejoining the group. The odd group of five Imperials and two Stormcloaks solemnly walked back to the first room where they found Kate eating a small meal of bread and rabbit haunches. Captain Ivan was sitting in the chair next to her and the two soldiers were watching for any more enemies.

When the group of seven entered, the Captain stood up to greet them. "I see you were able to find more survivors along with the water. Thank the Divine's for both," he said. He quickly turned back and started to wash Kate's wounds. The rest of the group grabbed something to eat, while others cleaned armor and weapons or rested.

Ralof sat down next to Kate, watching as the Captain took care of her. Illania joined them and started to converse with Kate about simple things to take her mind off of everything that had happened.

Kate was having the best time of her life as far as she could remember. These people seemed to care about her, were taking care of her, and even the other woman was willing to talk to her as if they had been friends for years. For once, she honestly felt as peace with the world and happy to be alive.

Ralof saw that Kate seemed less tense than before and asked her about it saying, "I noticed you were pretty banged up. What happened to you?" He quickly realized asking this was a mistake for a couple of reasons. Immediately Kate tensed up and Illania glared at him. Quickly taking a few steps back her said, "I'm sorry, that was rude of me. Whatever it was obviously looked painful and I'm sure you don't want to think about it."

Kate just nodded, but the damage had been done and she was silent. Even Illania could only get one or two word answers out of her. After ten minutes of trying, she gave up, and hit Ralof on the arm as she walked past to get some rest.

Later that night, half of the group was sleeping while the other half was keeping watch. They had agreed that it would be foolish to try and run with a Dragon flying overhead.

Kate had tried and failed to fall asleep, so she was sitting with her knees under her chin in front of the fire. Hadvar noticed her and quietly approached her, before sitting down next to her, even though she made no notion of noticing him.

Sighing, he asked, "Couldn't sleep, Kate?" She just shook her head.

As Hadvar started to actually look at her, he noticed that at on point she had been rather pretty, even beautiful, but recent years had slowly withered her down to her current state of malnourishment.

Trying again, he said, "How long have you been in Skyrim?"

This time, Kate lifted her head and looked into his eyes for a few seconds before setting her head down on her knees again. She must have seen something in his eyes because this time she answered, "Only two or three days before I was captured by that Imperial squad."

Happy that she had responded, Hadvar tried his luck again, not knowing that Illania, Captain Ivan, and Ralof were all listening in, trying to learn more about the young woman who had surprisingly wormed her way into their hearts in only a matter of hours, not that Kate noticed.

"Why did you come here?" he asked.

This time she didn't even look up before answering, "I was running from my past," but she didn't elaborate. Seconds turned to minutes before Hadvar decided that she was only going to give short answers to his questions, but he felt that it was good for her to talk about it and tried once more.

"You know I left my hometown of Riverwood to escape my past as well. I lived with my uncle and aunt since my parents had been killed in the war against the Dominion. When I was only twenty, I ran away from the boredom and the fact that I felt the need to make a difference in the world; so I joined the Legion. I felt that by joining them, I could help maintain the peace so that no other child would lose his or her parents to pointless wars. Obviously, that hasn't been working out too well with this whole Rebellion incident. Now we've got Dragons to deal with too."

Ralof looked down in shame; he had always hated Hadvar after he heard that his childhood friend had left to join the Empire, not knowing why he did so.

Captain Ivan was proud of the younger man for his reasons and willingness to serve the Empire.

Illania was surprised because she had joined the Rebellion for the same base reason that Hadvar had for joining the Legion: her parents had been killed by the Dominion and once she was old enough, she joined Ulfric's cause to kill the Elves who had killed her parents. Hearing Hadvar's choice of action made her rethink hers. It also attracted her to the man even though she really didn't think much of that at first assuming it was her respect growing for him.

Kate heard what he said as well. He had been hurt by the Dominion just as she had been, though he had been luckier she felt. After her parents had been killed, the damn Elves took her as their slave! She watched as her parents and younger brother were killed and then was forced into a life of pain and humiliation. For almost four years she had been treated lower than dirt and before her escape she had almost lost the will to live. Now, among these people, she felt that she could finally make a difference and start over. That meant coming clean with these people who helped her and hope that they wouldn't scorn her for her past.

So she began her tale: "I was born in Dawnstar twenty-three winters ago. My father had been a miner and my mother ran a small store. Only seven years after I had been born, one of the ships that came into port was in need of a new crewmember. My father signed on and my mother decided to bring me with them since they didn't want to be separated. We lived on that ships for months before reaching Tamriel. Neither of my parents enjoyed the ride, though they used to say that I loved it and could often be found learning everything I could about the ship. At Tamriel, we left the ship and my parents opened up another shop. Three years later, my brother Sameal was born. I was almost eleven at the time. Life was pretty good until six years later a Thalmorian Battalion attacked our town. My parents tried to hide us, but the Justiciars entered all of the homes. They found us hiding upstairs.

I was forced to… to watch them kill my mother and father, before… before I watched them cut my brothers head off! He was only six years old! He didn't deserve to die! None of them deserved to die!" Kate started to cry uncontrollable at this time; this was the first time she had gotten the chance to ever talk about that fateful day. Hadvar wrapped his arms around the smaller woman as she cried into his chest. A few of the other Imperials had woken up in the recent minutes and now the whole group was listening to her heart-wrenching story.

Almost five minutes later, Kate stopped crying and looked up ashamed, but she only saw understanding in Hadvar's eyes. Strengthened by his gaze and feeling lighter already, she continued her story: "After… after that happened, one of them grabbed my arm and laughing he slapped me. The others in the room laughed as I fell to the floor. They then proceeded to… to kick and hit me! Finally they tired of their abuse and one tied a bag over my head as another bound my hands. They took me outside and someone knocked my unconscious. They next thing I know, I'm laying in a cell wearing tattered robes.

They forced me to be their slave. They would whip or hit me for failures and reward me with sleep and scraps of bread for doing what they asked. The… the abuse didn't start until almost a year later when two of them were drunk beyond reasonable thought and decided that I should serve them in another way… the two of them… abused me at the same time… my first time…" She stopped again; the agony of that night filling her mind as tears began to fall again, but this time she pushed on, not stopping to cry as she continued her story.

Illania and the female Imperial though were crying openly and a couple of the soldiers even had wet eyes as well. Ralof was silently cursing the damn Elves and both Captain Ivan and Hadvar were having thoughts about involving the Legion in the capture and execution of those monsters.

Kate noticed none of this as she continued: "I mostly blocked that night out of my mind, but after that, the… abuse became almost the norm. In the morning, during the day, even sometimes in the middle of the night; time didn't matter for them. The only benefit was that meat was added to my diet on occasion rather than just bread scraps. The abuse lasted another three years before I finally got my lucky break. The Dominion had called on their Battalion to deal with a Rebel uprising in Hammerfell, so the Thalmorian Agent and four of his Justiciars were called on to aid in the attack. The last member of the group was happy to have me all to himself; I still remember his crude bragging to them of all the horrible things he'd do to me…" she shuddered at the memory before continuing.

"Only three days after they left, I caught him sleeping. He had been too tired after using me so he forgot to cage me up again… so I slit his throat with his precious Elven Dagger and cried tears of joy. Quickly foraging around, I gathered some food into a pack and grabbed an Elven Bow and a quiver of arrows before leaving that night. I had to kill three more Elves before I escaped. Luckily, I can be very sneaky and quiet, so one I was able to sneak up on with my knife and the other two fell to my bow. Two weeks later, I reached the border with Skyrim and crossed over. Three days later, I was a prisoner of the Legion and here we are."

Kate finished her story feeling ten tons lighter than she had felt in years. The rest of the group was happy for her now that she was free and all quietly promised to help her recover. The archer approached her and held out the second Imperial bow with a quiver of iron arrows. He answered he unasked question saying, "These should serve to your liking until you can get a better set… just in case"

Kate nodded in understanding and said thanks. Realizing everyone had heard her story, she was surprised to realize she wasn't embarrassed though she did decide to call it a night.

After she fell asleep, the rest of the group gathered together. Shock, anger, and sadness were all prevalent among the group, but Ralof was the first to speak up.

"Hadvar… I'm so sorry! I hated you all these years not knowing why you left. Now that I know, I'm so ashamed of the way I've spoken of you these last nine years since you left."

One of the Imperials, the lone female Imperial soldier named Ruccia interrupted saying, "Hearing that was sweet and all, but what should we do about what happened to her?" in relation to Kate.

Illania was the first to answer, "Those Thalmorian bastards are lucky I didn't find them or I'd castrate them before running them through with a blunt axe to the chest!"

The men in the group shuddered at the thought of castration as Ruccia nodded her head in agreement.

Hadvar though was once again the voice of reason, "That's good and all, but highly unrealistic. For now, I say we help Kate heal. Then we set for Riverwood. There we can get supplies. The Yarl of Whiterun needs to be informed of the Dragon as soon as possible. I'd say send some of us ahead, but I think right now strength in numbers is key."

The others agreed and once again half of the group settled down for the night. Meanwhile, Kate slept soundly for the first time in over four years, though her dreams were full of Dragons talking to each other in a language she vaguely understood for some reason.

* * *

_And cut! I hope you enjoyed part two of our story. I wanted to follow canon, but not really, and as you can see I've made quite a few changes, while keeping the general ideas intact. Do you like the way I'm approaching this, or should I stick closer to canon?_

_We now know Kate's whole past along with a little insight on Hadvar. Next time, some information of Ralof, Illania, Ivan, and Ruccia along with introducing the other Imperials in the group._

_**Characters thus far:  
**__Kate = 23 = Female Nord from Tamriel  
Hadvar = 29 = Male Nord from Riverwood  
Ralof = 28 = Male Nord from Riverwood  
Captain Ivan = 37 = Male Imperial from Solitude  
Illania = 26 = Female Nord from Windhelm  
Ruccia = 24 = Female Imperial from Tamriel_

_Just like last time, we have the same questions for our readers: what types of quests (radiant and main) do you want to us to follow? We may not do it if we have a good reason, but chances are we might be able to make it work for her. She will be a member of the Shadowolves: they are pro Elisef since she is the legitimate ruler of Skyrim by order of succession, but hate the Empire and want Skyrim to rule itself. They like the Stormcloak views, but don't trust Ulfric and believe he has ulterior motives. We're thinking most of the current group will end up joining them, but that isn't set in stone._

_Also let me know which light armors she should use (or heavy, but that one requires more explanation since she will be running around Skyrim a lot and light armor makes more sense for this). This is currently set as Leather soon and later Shadowolves armor. _

_Oh, and should she get a horse? If so any ideas on that since neither Kitty nor Mkeeg use horses… we fast travel, which Kate won't be doing in this story._

_Pairings! Haha! Kitty wants Kate to be paired with a female since she always does that. I'm thinking Hadvar with Illania and personally I wanted Captain Ivan with Kate. What do you all think? What about for the other characters? _

_Also if you have any comments about the writing style, plot, etc please let us know what you think. We want to know, but please don't write it in the form of a flame; rather write it as a critique if you don't like it. Thank you!_


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